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International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics

AHFE 2017: Advances in Human Factors in Sports, Injury Prevention and Outdoor Recreation pp 108–120Cite as

Effect of Relative Age on Physical Size and Motor Ability Among Japanese Elementary Schoolchildren

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 603))

Abstract

A child born soon after the designated cut-off date (“early-born”) may benefit by up to a full year in physical and psychological development, unlike one born just before the cut-off date (“late-born”). This phenomenon—called the “relative age effect”—causes inequalities in education and impacts the psychological aspects of children’s sports participation. However, its influence on physical aspects has not been clarified. Therefore, we examined its impact on physical size and motor ability among Japanese elementary schoolchildren (384 males and 360 females). We collected demographic data and measured physical size and motor abilities. Analysis of covariance showed that early-born children scored significantly higher than late-born children across variables, indicating the effect of relative age on physical aspects of sports participation and the possible advantage of early-born over late-born children in sports achievement. We propose the need for acknowledging this phenomenon in educational settings among teachers and coaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, 1-1, Hiraga-gakuendai, Inzai-shi, Chiba, 270-1695, Japan

    Yujiro Kawata & Masataka Hirosawa

  2. Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, 1-1, Hiraga-gakuendai, Inzai-shi, Chiba, 270-1695, Japan

    Yujiro Kawata & Masataka Hirosawa

  3. Institute of Health and Sports Science and Medicine, Juntendo University, 1-1, Hiraga-gakuendai, Inzai-shi, Chiba, 270-1695, Japan

    Akari Kamimura & Masataka Hirosawa

  4. Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, 8-19-1, Kitakawasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8565, Japan

    Shino Izutsu

Authors
  1. Yujiro Kawata
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  2. Akari Kamimura
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  3. Shino Izutsu
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  4. Masataka Hirosawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yujiro Kawata .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Tareq Ahram

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Kawata, Y., Kamimura, A., Izutsu, S., Hirosawa, M. (2018). Effect of Relative Age on Physical Size and Motor Ability Among Japanese Elementary Schoolchildren. In: Ahram, T. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Sports, Injury Prevention and Outdoor Recreation. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 603. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60822-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60822-8_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60821-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60822-8

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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